AT&T and AST SpaceMobile ink direct-to-device satellite deal

The partners claim the deal paves the way for the elimination of not-spots across the US

This week, AT&T and AST SpaceMobile have signed a definitive commercial deal to work together in bringing direct-to-mobile satellite communication to AT&T customers.

The agreement, which builds on a previous Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2018, extends until 2030

As part of the MoU, AT&T will invest $500,000 into the satellite firm, with AT&T’s Head of Network, Chris Sambar, taking a seat on AST’s board of directors.

Spanish regulators clear Zegona’s acquisition of Vodafone Spain

The deal was first confirmed last October 

This week, Zegona’s acquisition of Vodafone Spain has received approval from Spanish regulators. 

The Spanish government’s Council of Ministers has approved the deal “in respect of foreign direct investment into Spain,” said UK-based Zegona in a press release this morning. 

UK’s fastest supercomputer switched on

The computer is officially the most sustainable supercomputer in the UK 

The UK’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer, known as Isambard-AI, has been switched on at the University of Bristol this week. 

The Isambard-AI supercomputer was first announced by the government last March alongside a £225 million investment. The facility has been built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and contains over 5,000 NVIDIA superchips, allowing it to complete 200 quadrillion calculations per second. 

Flarion: a standards success story

By Ronny Haraldsvik, CMO / SVP Business Development & Field Systems Engineering at Cohere Technologies

What constitutes success is different for every business. For Flarion, the telecoms start-up where I served as a VP of marketing and helped lead the business to an impactful exit, success meant having our technology included in — what was then — the new 4G standard. We knew our best route was to have support from leading mobile operators, OEMs and the industry. Another option was to become acquired by one of the leading telco giants. 

Mobile Internet Adoption Accelerates Among Women in LMICs, but Further Action is Needed to Close the Gender Gap: GSMA

More women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are using mobile internet than ever before, 1.5 billion (66%) in total. In 2023, an additional 120 million women connected to the internet via mobile. Mobile remains the primary – and often only – way people in LMICs access the internet, accounting for 84% of broadband connections in 2023. However, an alarming 785 million women remain unconnected, with approximately 60% residing in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

CityFibre completes its acquisition of Lit Fibre

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has now completed its acquisition of Lit Fibre (Lit) from Newlight Partners. The share-based acquisition, announced two months ago, will accelerate CityFibre’s nationwide full fibre rollout by up to 300,000 premises as part of its 8m rollout programme and will see Newlight Partners join as minority shareholders.